A Rhetoricalanalysis Of American University Presidents’ Commencement Speeches

Public speaking has played a more and more important role in modern times.As for college students,commencement speech is extremely motivating and closely related to their campus life,which is a distinct type of public speaking.And it has attracted the attention of scholars in the field of linguistics at home and abroad for a long time.They have analyzed commencement speeches from the perspectives of stylistics,pragmatics,appraisal theory and system functional grammar.Different linguistic surface levels of these speeches have been analyzed,but the effectiveness of the speeches is neglected.Rhetoric,as “the art of speech”,can be employed to achieve the persuasive purpose.However,researchers have rarely studied commencement speeches from the rhetorical perspective,even though research on commencement addresses has produced great achievements from other perspectives.Based on Aristotle’s three appeals theory,this study aims to examine logos,ethos,and pathos employed by speakers in all the collected commencement speeches.The data consists of 56 scripts of commencement speeches delivered by presidents from 2016 to 2021 in the top ten American universities listed on the U.S.News World University Rankings published in 2021.The mixed methods combining qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis are adopted.Qualitative analysis is employed to judge,identify and mark the three appeals in the 56 scripts.The frequency distribution of the three appeals and the corresponding rhetorical strategies in the 56 scripts are analyzed with the instrument of Ant Conc 4.0.5.And whether there is any significant difference among the frequencies of the three appeals is answered with the instrument of SPSS 28.0.Besides,the statistical data is used to show the results of the qualitative analysis.And qualitative analysis is also used to interpret and illustrate the results of the quantitative analysis.The research results show the following aspects: Firstly,based on the quantitative analysis,it is found that the frequencies of logos,ethos,and pathos in the commencement speeches are significantly different,among which the frequency of the emotional appeal is more than the other two appeals.Secondly,the speakers adopt different rhetorical strategies to achieve the three appeals: To realize logos,the speakers employ rhetorical strategies,such as examples,testimonies,data and reasoning,including deductive reasoning,and inductive reasoning.In order to realize ethos,the speakers establish a positive image of rich intelligence,moral character,and good will,which can be used to improve the credibility of the speeches.To achieve pathos,the speakers use figures of speech such as repetition,parallelism,metaphors,and rhetorical questions to evoke the audience’s emotions.Thirdly,some common characteristics of the commencement speeches in the analysis process can be concluded.Through the analysis of Aristotle’s three appeals employed in AUPCS,this paper provides a new perspective for the study of the commencement speech.This study can help speakers better understand the three appeals and provides a reference for the application of this theory in public speaking.The rhetorical strategies utilized in AUPCS can be extended to other forms of discourse as well.The research can provide some enlightenment for the learning and teaching of speaking and writing.